


home

by 101places



Series: trauma days [4]
Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Gen, Missing Scene, Post-Episode: s03e02 Purpose in the Machine
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-03
Updated: 2019-04-03
Packaged: 2020-01-04 11:58:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,288
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18343235
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/101places/pseuds/101places
Summary: A missing scene after Simmons comes back through the Monolith.





	home

**Author's Note:**

> originally this was gonna be a lot longer & cover her recovery post-maveth, but for some goddamn reason post-maveth stuff is always so difficult for me to write?? i have loads of ideas but whenever i sit down to write it my brain just throws up a 404 error
> 
> i had a little more written but i ended it at the point that seemed the most hopeful. i'll probably try re-watching 4722 hours sometime tomorrow and see if that helps me write more maveth-related content
> 
> anyways, as always comment/kudos are always appreciated!! i hope you enjoy ^^

It was bizarre.

For the past six months, Simmons had been fantasising about returning home. There was nothing about Earth that she hadn’t missed, from the sunlight, to the food, to the people. The memory of Earth had been reproduced by her mind, twisted into some idealised utopia, so that now she was finally back it just… didn’t feel right.

There was no sunlight in this room, for starters. At the bottom of a pit, almost drowning in rubble. Dust hung heavy in the air, making it uncomfortable to breathe. It wasn’t as difficult as the sandstorms from that hell, but it was far from what she had imagined.

Another thing that she had never taken into account in her imaginings, despite the fact that she really should have known better, was the heaviness of her body. She had always known, of course, that gravity was different between here and there. Yet she had never truly considered the implications of that. Even just moving her body enough to push her way through the rubble seemed too difficult, and anxiety grew in her chest as the thought that even though she was here- she was home- this nightmare wouldn’t just be neatly tied up and tidied away.

Beneath her, something shifted, and the rubble that had been surrounding her body fell away. For a second, her memory failed her, and that anxiety grew stronger as she tried to place what was underneath her. Then the second passed, and she squinted to see a very familiar face.

Fitz looked down at her as if she was the most amazing thing he had ever seen. The expression on his face wasn’t one she had seen before, and it stirred a series of confusing and conflicting emotions in her that she quickly decided would be better sorted out at a later date. Fitz reached down and gently brushed some remaining pieces of rubble from her face, and seemed as though he was about to speak, until-

“Oh my god.”

Another voice. With speed that Simmons hadn’t realised she was currently capable of, she looked up to the surface, relaxing somewhat when she saw that the figure peering down at them was familiar.

The last time that Simmons had heard of Bobbi, it had been unclear if she’d even be able to pull through, and worry for her friend had eaten at Simmons over the past six months. Now, it seemed that things had worked out. Bobbi was alive, and looking down at her with an awed expression.

There was some commotion above, and Simmons winced as voices began to intermingle. This was another issue that it seemed she hadn’t given enough thought. After spending six months with only herself and one other for company, of course this would become difficult. Simmons shut her eyes and buried her head into Fitz’s chest, trying to drown out the overstimulation.

“Hey,” Fitz’s voice was soft and low, a pleasant change from the loud voices above them. “It’s alright.”

“No. It’s too much.” Simmons felt her frustration rising as her mind wasted too much energy trying to filter out the overwhelming noises from above, not leaving enough to help her sort through her own internal noise and find the right words. “It’s too loud.”

“Oh. Of course.” A moment of silence from Fitz, then he raised his voice so the others could hear: “Could you talk further away, or- quieter? It’s overstimulating.”

Slowly, the noises began to quieten down, and Simmons found her brain begin to slow back down to an acceptable speed along with them. Just as she began to find her calm again, she felt Fitz move underneath her, cautiously moving his hand so he could stroke through her hair, a movement that he knew she found relaxing.

Not for the first time, Simmons found herself wondering what he had been doing for the past six months. She had never doubted that he was searching for her, and this rescue proved that to be true- but what had he done to find her? How long had it taken him to realise that she was even still alive?

Oddly, she found herself wanting to apologise to him for all of this. For any heartache he’d been through over the past six months, for any sacrifices he may have had to make for her. Though, perhaps, he wasn’t who she was really wanting to apologise to. Perhaps thinking of the guilt resting in her chest as being directed at Fitz was easier than having to think about who it was more likely to be directed to.

Eventually, Simmons knew she’d have to face the truth of the thing. Eventually wasn’t now, however. For now, she would focus on the sound of Fitz’s heartbeat under her ear, and the feeling of his hand softly combing through her hair.

Simmons wasn’t sure how long they lay there together, before Fitz shifted again. Simmons raised her head and looked up, seeing some sort of stretcher being lowered down into the pit. When it reached their level, Fitz helped her onto it. In all honesty, Simmons wasn’t particularly keen on leaving his side, but she understood that this was the safest way to go about things. There was no need to make things overly complicated, and she could certainly cope with being away from him for a minute or two.

When she was secure, the stretcher began to rise out of the pit. Simmons lay still, not wanting to move and risk dizziness after having already established that her body was going to take its time to get used to the Earth.

After the stretcher reached the surface and was pulled onto solid ground, it took Simmons a moment to gather the energy to sit up and look around. Seeing the familiar faces of her team around her, she couldn’t help but feel warmed. Spending so long with only one other person for company, it had been difficult, at times, to remember that she had so many people out there for her, somewhere. In front of her now, she saw the proof of their care.

Mack stepped forwards, offering his hand to help her up. She took it, and when her legs shook under her, not used to her weight, Mack pulled her closer to offer her his support.

Simmons hadn’t always seen eye-to-eye with Mack in the past, so when she glanced up at his face, she couldn’t help but feel a slight spark of surprise at the genuine emotion there. She looked down again quickly, trying to hide her own emotions.

As the rest of the team focused on retrieving Fitz from the pit, Simmons found her emotions growing, and once again found herself becoming overwhelmed- though this time, it didn’t lead to a meltdown.

Over the past year, Simmons knew that she hadn’t made things easy for the rest of the team. Six months on a desolate planet with only one man for company had led to a lot of reflection on her part. She knew that she hadn’t managed any of the horrible events that had been thrown their way easily, she knew that she had contributed to a lot of the problems. Yet here they all were.

Even after she had essential run away, even after her initial beliefs about Inhumans, they were still here to support her.

Going from a support network of one person just as confused and frightened as she had been to her whole team being here, offering her support- literally, in Mack’s case. She felt touched, and humbled, and for the first time since even before she arrived on that hell, she thought that maybe, eventually, everything could be alright.


End file.
